4. North Korea is accusing China of being a US puppet. The state-run Korean Central News Agency criticized China directly for "reckless remarks" on the North's nuclear program, saying China was testing its patience, which could trigger "grave" consequences.

5. Oil is being hammered. Prices slumped below $45 a barrel to levels last seen in November 2016 when production was cut by OPEC amid soaring US oil production, appearing to have more than negated attempts to cut output by others in the first half of 2017.

7. British manufacturing is reporting rapid growth. Shaking off Brexit, the UK's small and medium-sized (SME) manufacturers reported strong growth in orders in the three months to April with domestic orders up 19%, export orders up 20% and new orders at three-year high.